Am I the only one that feels raked over by Giants?!?!

[TankerWar]

So as most of you know, in order to run a dedicated server you need a second copy of the game ( while I dont feel this is the right way, I dont mind paying extra for that) and if you want your server to have the DLC, you need to purchase that DLC twice (one for you and one for your server). To top that, everyone that wants to play on your server has to have that same DLC. Whatever happened to only the host of the server needing DLC or the people that want it to play single player? I get Giants has never gone that route of only the host needing it and the biggest reason I feel is because they are greedy!

All this money that Giants is making from all the people running their own dedicated servers and the DLC is going to what exactly? I ask because I see so much copy and paste of old FS games with not a lot of newer features...or at least ones that would dictate the price of a new game.

What really opened my eyes to see how greedy Giants is, is when platinum released. Now I am a FS fan and love the concept of the game and I buy the games both because I enjoy playing and to support Giants, hoping that they would turn away from the minor changes and start evolving the game into something greater than a copy paste old product. That being said, I feel raked over by Giants when I go out, like many out there, and purchase the game early...then later down the road, Giants releases the platinum version. Okay, no big deal as that version costs $10 more which makes sense. What does Giants do though for the expansion for all those customers that already have the base game? Well, they release an expansion that upgrades your base game to the platinum. Makes sense again, and I wouldnt be having this discussion if they would have set it for $10, but instead the "Greedy Giants" decide to squeeze out even more for those that supported the game early by purchasing the basic game and now want this new edition that costs $20 as an expansion. Put a new look for what GG really stands for in my book! So options to either repurchase the whole game with platinum on it for $35 or you can pay $20 if you have the base game already and just want to add the platinum!

So that is why I am asking if anyone else out there feels like they have been raked over the coals with this company that must be taking after EA Games. Giants developers, if you are looking at this, that is not a role model of developers you want to follow. You have a great game concept and a huge fan base that supports it! All I ask is that you dont screw them all over and squeeze out every penny just so you can sit on a pile of gold by not sticking it into the game to make it better. Spend a few dimes and improve the god awful AI Helpers or other features of the game that have been copied and pasted for far too long. Update the gameplay, not just the graphics and the brands of the equipment.

[MrSquealypig]

Considering how much time and enjoyment I get out of this one game compared to anything else I ever bought, no I don't.

They did change a lot of things in the game. I tried to write out all the things that changed from 17 to 19 and it ended up being a really long list.

They just didn't change in certain areas some people wanted, like seasons. By no means did they just copy and paste 17 to 19 though.

And honestly, I wish they came out with more paid content. I have been working a lot of overtime and would be happy to spend some of that on DLCs, but they aren't coming any time soon.

[Eische]

As FS19 is already out for a longer time now, the price for the base game has already reduced.
The 20$ for the Platinum Expansion is a very good price for what you get. They are not greedy. They just want to earn money like any other company.
Nobody forces you to buy the DLCs. If you are greedy and want to use Claas equipment...well you have to pay for it. For me, Platinum Expansion adds nothing to the game, so I haven't bought it.

Early adopters always pay more in the end. Not only from a cost standpoint. They also have to deal with bugs. I pre-ordered base game FS19. Am I frustrated because now I could by the Platinum Edition for the same price? No. Because I was able to play for more than one year.

If you feel raked, just wait until the game price drops and only buy it at that time.

Buy the way, multiplayer is based on a certain level of cooperation and understanding each other. Just talk to each other and align on which DLCs to activate/install on that server. And everyone will be happy. Use your DLC machines in singleplayer then.

[this_is_gav]

It would be good to have it where multiplayer could see others using for example Platinum DLC equipment, but they themselves could only use it if they bought the DLC.

As for value for money, on PC you've got things like Steam where you can play for up to two hours before getting a refund and Epic were even giving the game away for free recently!

Whether the game and the DLCs are worth it only you know, but personally £27 for a game that has given me hundreds of hours of gameplay is a bargain.

[bossmanslim]

My thoughts on the currently released products for FS19

• Core game - great value, works well enough, HOWEVER, if it were not for mods and the fact that this is my first FS game, I would probably not see all that much extra value when compared to the prior versions.
• Anderson DLC - waste of money as I literally can't find justification to use any of the equipment. The square bale wagon is slower than the one already end game and round bales are just too annoying. I have probably used Anderson equipment for less than 5 hours total in the game.
• Cotton DLC (John Deere) - waste of money unless you really like cotton and completely insulting to call it John Deere DLC
• Claas DLC - I'm going to give this a push as I use the Claas machinery, but I think this is more because I have it, not because I see the Claas machines as filling gaps. I really think this DLC needs a Claas windrower and tedder to make it feel complete.

I think I got my money's worth overall, but only because of mods and the ability to edit the game xml files.

I would not put Giants on the level of EA or Activision, but I also think they have room for improvement.

[TankerWar]

I guess then I just have a different opinion then when it comes to what I figure is more effective when it comes to rereleasing a new game. I am not stating that nothing at all has been done as I do like and enjoy the landscaping feature along with other things. I just feel that there are a lot of things that have been issues, or that people have been commenting on about them upgrading, that feel like they havent been touched or looked at. And it's hard to figure that a developer couldnt upgrade them when mofs have improved upon those features.

As for not getting the dlc or expansion, I do agree that if it doesnt pertain to me or is too expensive in my eyes, then don't purchase it. What I dont understand is why they cant equal the playing field that if I purchased the base game and want the expansion, I should only pay the difference for that edition, not $10 more all because I bought the game in the beginning. Just asking to be treated fairly with pricing, not asking for it to be given as a discount or free.

I do like their dlc and feel they should get money for it, just feel they go about it in the wrong manner. I get that's an opinion as most discussions are, but as a gamer of hundreds of games, I can state that this is one of the few games out there that require a second copy of everything to host and for everyone else to play on it, the same dlc It just makes it hard when I want to enjoy the game and the dlc that they created, but I either have to try to get the people to buy the dlc I want to play with in my server, or I have to buy it for them, or I play singleplayer when my strong point of the game is multiplayer. I just wish that they would only require the host in multiplayer to have it even if that meant raising the price of it just a bit.

I have gotten hundreds of hours in each, fs19 and fs17. And I'm not saying it is a horrible value. I just feel it could be better when it comes to gameplay features is all. And being that fs21 is either not coming out or is just postponed, I hope that this break is what gives them the opportunity, time, and drive to bring the next fs game as something over the top.

I dont value a game based on price to amount of time I play as if i did that, i wouldnt say any game is valuable unless it was free as I've played a free to play game with over 365 logged in accumulated time. I understand developers need to make money and i support that as it is what brings us the games, updates, and more. I just realize that what I am looking for in fs isnt really what others are as they seem to be happy with the progress of the new fs game.

[redglasses]

I too would like to know where the money is going. Although I dont think we should place giants on the same level of EA or other companies. I wish they would actually fix the bugs with the dlc/games that they release though, I think this frustrates me the most.

[Illinois Farmer]

I don't feel raked over, but feel it is getting ridiculous they haven't fixed the claas dlc yet.

[humbe]

This is probably a fairly niche game with a limited player base. The players that are playing it need to pay a bit for giants to make enough money to not just stop producing it. I can understand your multiplayer annoyance, but on the other hand, it's likely the more active users that play multiplayer, and it kind of makes sense that players playing a lot pays more than the price someone has to pay to try out the franchise.

[aklein]

Second copy if you want to run your own dedicated server. Not that big of a deal you either rent a dedicated server and pay a fee or have hardware to run your own dedicated server and run a second copy of the game. The dedicated server runs the game in a no UI mode. Its been like this for as long as MP has existed in FS. You dont have to do either to do MP just do a hosted session on your own system and friends and family can join in on their copy as long as you have your game up as it makes your copy the MP host at no additional cost. If you run a long term dedicated server then depending on slot count it can become cheaper to buy that second copy for $30 or what ever it is in your currency than pay the monthly fees.

As to everyone needing to own the DLC, again this is not a changed with 19. I only go back to FS17 in knowledge but it was that way back then and likely that way since the inception of MP in FS. If everyone does not have the DLC then what would be the behavior. Only DLC owners could see and use DLC equipment? Do you propose somehow DLC assets get transferred over the wire every time a non DLC owner joins a server? The game is still running locally the server is just providing real time position information on players, equipment and field conditions. The server isn't rendering things visually in any way. This is also why every player must have the exact same mod that connects to MP.

I had over 3000 hours in FS17 and over 1700 now in 19 and it is by far the cheapest form of entertainment that I can come up with on a dollars or cents per hour calculation even after buying 2 copies of the game one to play and one to run a local server.

[IceUul]

For me FS19 has great value, let's call it 1000 hour game, there are not much these out there.
So if you put value this way 1 hour = how much money, it will give a real great value for that game compared
to other titles what sell for 30-60$ and can be played around 100 hours.

For multiplayer, there are no need to use DLC-s, there are so much equipment mods out there what will
do similar or better job than DLC-s.

[this_is_gav]

If everyone does not have the DLC then what would be the behavior. Only DLC owners could see and use DLC equipment? Do you propose somehow DLC assets get transferred over the wire every time a non DLC owner joins a server?

With the PC version you can download server mods separately or as a whole from the server. They could leverage or expand on that for DLCs, or have more DLC content in an accompanying game update?

To be fair the whole mismatched mods thing could do with a bit of an overhaul. Perhaps the game could be a bit more intelligent, maybe having a separate "modsMultiplayer" folder or the likes, where only mismatched or missing mods are stored for servers you join (with matching mods remaining in your regular mods folder to save space), and are updated each time you join a server, so a one off or rare update for most). Most of us have sufficient internet speeds now for this to be realistic.

It's less of an issue on console as all mods are identical, assuming those mods are kept updated, so only mods which are missing would be needed. Hopefully the next consoles will allow a little more storage space as that's still an issue for some apparently, even with FS19's much smaller mods.

Personally I don't care as I play multiplayer so rarely I'd rather GIANTS concentrated on other areas, but that's purely from a greedy personal point of view.

[Ado239]

I don't feel raked over, but feel it is getting ridiculous they haven't fixed the claas dlc yet.

I agree. Its getting very annoying

[ace54858]

So as most of you know, in order to run a dedicated server you need a second copy of the game ( while I dont feel this is the right way, I dont mind paying extra for that) and if you want your server to have the DLC, you need to purchase that DLC twice (one for you and one for your server).

people can rent server's which make's no need to buy a second copy for a dedicated server it would just come down to anyone who want's to play on said server would just need what is set up on it be it DLC's, Mob's i watch someone who does just that i think he rent's the server from verygames.

[FarmBoss]

Maybe the best option for you would be to wait and buy new versions after the expansion is released, for a reduced price. You'd also be closer to important mod releases that take months to convert.